North Cascades

RECREATION AND TOURISM IN THE MOUNTAINS

HOSTELRIES AND RESORTS

Rainbow Lodge

The last of the early valley resorts, the Rainbow Lodge opened in 1910 offering the public yet another overnight alternative in Stehekin. Lydia George, the proprietress, had grown tired of working for others as a telephone operator and cook at the Horseshoe Basin and Bridge Creek mines. Determined to go into business for herself, and speculating on the need for seasonal lodging in the valley, Miss George hired her former employer Henry Buckner to build a six-room frame house for her. Indicative of Stehekin valley architecture, the structure was simple in appearance, its most noticeable feature being a long sloping gable roofline. Located about 2-1/2 miles from the head of the lake, the hostelry was sited off the valley road and surrounded by tall trees. A large clearing provided pastureland for packhorses and cows, and enabled Lydia to grow a sizable vegetable garden. Guests (mostly miners in the early years) were assured good meals, clean beds, and general comfort during their stay at the Rainbow Lodge.

Rainbow Lodge, with rental cabin to right, mid-1930s.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file: courtesy of M. Barnhart)

The 1910s brought Lydia George steady business. With the added help of her sister Althea Rice and a man named Jamie Jameson, the Rainbow Lodge was able to expand. By the 1920s several small cabins were built nearby to accommodate those guests who wished to cook their own meals. Flowers and rock walls, steps and terraces were thoughtfully added to enhance and ornament the lodge's mountain setting. As valley mining died, the lodge became less of a boarding house for miners and more of a lodge for tourists and fishermen. Though tourists were practically non-existent during the Depression, Rainbow Lodge was able to remain open through the difficult years. During the 1940s tourists coming uplake were met at the boat dock by Jameson, who wooed them to Rainbow Falls in the lodge's old Ford truck or Model T. [31] Afterwards, he would return with the group to the lodge, where Lydia and Althea had prepared a substantial roast beef lunch with all the trimmings. Satiated after their final serving of homemade pie or cobbler, some guests sat and rocked in chairs while others peered out at McGregor Mountain lookout, clearly visible through the telescope stationed on the lodge's porch. [32]

Jamie Jameson and the touring car from Rainbow Lodge at Stehekin Landing, 1930s.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file)